Keeping the game moving...

[rfielder]

Has anyone tried using a timer to force players to lay a tile?

Kind of like in chess.   As a game progresses, it gets trickier to find a really good play to lay a tile.  Some people prefer to think and act a log slower as complexity increases and as tension mounts.

To keep a game moving, I wonder if using a timer would help.  You start the time before you draw a tile.  When the time sounds, you must lay the tile, or the player to your {right}!{left} lays it for you.

The rest of the turn can also take time, so maybe this should be for the entire turn, rather than just laying the tile?

Sometimes, my partner takes so long to place a tile that the tablet we are using for scoring times out and turns off!  Maybe if I got her moving quicker I might win a few.. 

Linkback: https://www.carcassonnecentral.com/community/index.php?topic=715.0

[Rosco]

I was planning on buying a selection of sand timers from 30 secs to 3 mins and it is random which one you use. If the time runs out the tile goes back in the bag!

[evmillan]

I think that the best option is this cube clock, it has six diferents colors (one per side) and you can set up the Count Down time for each one

DGT Cube Game Timer and Chess Clock

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004S56RJG/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
http://www.chesscentral.com/DGT_Cube_p/dgt-cube.htm

[danisthirty]

For me, finding people to play against can be tricky at the best of times, let alone those who know how to play most of the expansions without having them explained before we can start. It's very frustrating when you're waiting to take your turn and someone is sitting opposite you faffing around with a straight bit of road that they can't decide where to place, but I don't think my tiles would see a lot of action if I started pushing timers in people's faces!

[Paul]

What we do, to save time is, players pre-draw their tiles so they have time to plan their placement during others turn. While player 1 is having his or her turn, player 2 and 3 for example pre-draw their tiles in order.
  This do cause for a minor rule change but we think it's all good. It being that a player with a builder draws another tile out of sync order.

When there are no more tiles and a builder is involved, the tiles are handed down in order, because the last player giving up his tile to earlier player can't do anything anyway, knowing what tile he had to forfeit.

The beauty of this is, even if players want the tiles to not be out of sync order, they can just hand down their tile to the other player if using the builder effect. Knowing what tile it is does not give him or her any advantage.

 

[MrNumbers]

As I heard, even on Carcassonne World championship players take the next tile while the other player's turn is in progress. On our game nights we also use this rule, but only if the next player have no opportunity to take one more tile (builder, message, bazaar etc.).

[Carcking]

We always play one draw one - so we are always holding one tile. When we play with the Builder we hold two, then the Builder play has to be the second tile you are holding. This way each player has the whole round to decide what their play will be. And it's a timer of sorts - when it comes to their turn time is up and they've had as much time as any player, on average. This has greatly shortened the duration of our games.

[SRBO]

Even with the builder we mostly draw a next tile. lately we dont make nice ordered piles but rather, stack of it. so drawing Always is random..

[rfielder]

When we play with the Builder we hold two, then the Builder play has to be the second tile you are holding.

Are you allowed to look at the second tile before playing the first?

I hope that - that can greatly change how you play the first tile.

We play that the player with a builder should state that they "might" draw again as soon as they look at their tile.  They don't have to, but it stops the next player from drawing a tile.  This matters to us, before we put all tiles back in the bag before the builder player draws a second tile.

I agree that predrawing a tile can speed up the game.  However, I am not sure that knowing what you have before the previous player sets their tile is a good thing.

P.S. - we have The Tower, but we draw tiles out of a bag.  The rule is that you can not see into the bag at all before reaching for your next tile.  Gotta keep it random!

[Fritz_Spinne]

We play with predrawing, too. We always take tiles from one pile in order. If someone takes a builder turn, all players left of him give their tile to the right player. I think it's no difference whether the next player knows the tile you get for the builder turn, he shouldn't tell you anyway.

[Carcking]

When we play with the Builder we hold two, then the Builder play has to be the second tile you are holding.

Are you allowed to look at the second tile before playing the first?

Yes, you are allowed to look - so you can plan your turn. With the Builder you can decide which one to play first.

[rfielder]

Yes, you are allowed to look - so you can plan your turn. With the Builder you can decide which one to play first.

That I do not agree with.  A player should never know anything more than the next tile to be placed.

[Carcking]

That I do not agree with.  A player should never know anything more than the next tile to be placed.

Understood. It's clearly a matter of taste - as with any house rule. But the idea is to speed up play - and not have players pondering over a newly drawn tile while the group is waiting.

We've also played with holding three tiles. This really opens up options...but being thwarted seems to hurt that much more. 

Oddly enough - when playing with holding three tiles - the game does not speed up. It gives the player too many options.

[quevy]

As I heard, even on Carcassonne World championship players take the next tile while the other player's turn is in progress. On our game nights we also use this rule, but only if the next player have no opportunity to take one more tile (builder, message, bazaar etc.).

Exactly the system we use.